DailyDirt: Better Keyboards

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Keyboards are one of the fastest and most accurate ways to input text into a digital device. Sure, you could argue that speech recognition has beaten a txting champion (Ben Cook in 2006), but the more common experience with speech recognition is far from perfect dictation results. Early keyboards used some relatively complex mechanical designs to achieve a nice tactile feel and accurate input -- replaced by various iterations of keyboard improvements to become thinner and lighter and more (or less) clicky-sounding. Here are just a few more attempts to make better keyboards.

I'm totally interested in keyboard improvements and such for mobile and portable devices. But when at a nice stable desk, I'm still of the opinion that there is nothing better than a classic IBM Model M.

A hard non-tactile surface as a keyboard?

My fingertips ache just thinking about tapping on a hard surface at 40 wpm (that's rapping a desk surface about three times a second). These guys must be bible-method typists.

And with no tactile feedback?

Engineers spend a lot of time and effort to provide tactile feedback. In the seventies, a lot of effort was put into photographic cameras so that the user could feel the point where, if the pressed the shutter down 'just a hair', the camera would shoot.

Likewise, for keyboards. There's a reason that these schemes keep failing. The public really doesn't want them.

Re:

"I'm totally interested in keyboard improvements and such for mobile and portable devices"

Me too. So far, however, the only improvement that I really long for is an actual, physical keyboard. Those on-screen ones just totally blow. The shape-shifting business to add tactile feedback might be an improvement, but it still wouldn't come remotely close to a physical keyboard.

"there is nothing better than a classic IBM Model M."

Best keyboard ever. I still marvel at how when it comes to keyboard technology, it's been nothing but downhill from there.

Das Keyboard?

Anyone here try Das Keyboard? They were inspired by the IBM Model M. The result was their Model S.The on screen keyboard on my HP X11 laptablet running Windows 8.1 is much easier to use than the on screen keyboards on either of my Galaxy Tabs.

speech recognition versa keyboard

Do you really know how quick is our voice? Last month I had a job to transcribe audio and I have used https://speechpad.pw site for this job. So, for the 1.5 second the man in this audio said 3-7 words!